Intro
When I purchased my Jeep almost exactly 25000 miles ago, it came with a set of fairly new Peerless Force 4 LT tires (stock size @ 30x9.50R15). These are a fine all-around A/T (All Terrain) tire and they had not let me down. This was until I started to get more serious about rockcrawling. The Force 4s are designed to be a tough tire that wears long and handles highway use well. The problem is that they are an A/T tire and that means that they have a fairly conservitive tread design. This is great for everyday use but when your trying to climb rocks and dig through mud, you wish for something a bit more agressive. It was time for a set of M/Ts (Mud Terrains) in a 31x10.50R15.

Ahh, so many choices
When I started this journey, I was in love with the Goodyear MT/Rs. They are the stock tire of the new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and a very popular choice among the rockcralwers. There are however a little pricey and have a more conservitive tread design than say a BFG M/T. This more conservitive tread design is not all bad though, as they seem to make a better highway tire than many other M/Ts. The other options are BFG Mud-Terrain, Firestone Destination M/T and Kumho Venture M/T. There were a few others that I knew about but I was leaning on the above four.

Making the choice
My next stop was to call all over Albuequerque for prices and availability. I asked for the full price including install and road hazard warranty. I learned that the cheapest I could find Goodyear MT/Rs was $175 and that shop did not have them in stock. I found the BFGs for $170 each. The Firestones for $197 each. The Kumhos were a little harder to find but I found them for about $150 but they would have to be ordered. During my many phone calls I learned of another choice that temped me. Michelin makes a simpler version of the BFGs called Mud Kings (I know it is a lame name but that name saves you a lot of money). They can be had for $128 each. After much thought, I decided on the BFGs.

Buying the tires
The tire shop I selected is named Craig Tire Co. and is located in Belen (40 miles away). They are an old fashioned shop where the advertised price of each tire includes mounting, balancing, valve step and full road hazard warranty with free balancing and flat fixes. I like the way these guys think. They are a Michelin-BFGoodrich-Uniroyal dealer and that is all they sell. I stopped by to find out that they had sold the only set of 31" BFG Mud-Terrains the day before. It would take at least a week to order some more. However they did have a set of Mud Kings in stock, so I took a long look at them. They have a similar tread pattern but lack the sidewall tread of the BFGs. They also lack the rim protector that the BFGs have. Besides that they seem to be a very comparable looking tire and they were $41 cheaper for each tire. I gave it much thought and decided that saving $164+ on a set of tires that are at least 90% as good as the BFGs was worth it.

Impressions
I think I made a good choice choosing the Mud Kings. They do make some road noise but it is not louder than the wind noise when driving on the highway, so no big loss there. And my Jeep is handling better than expected with the bigger mud style tire. What else is there to say. Now I just have to wait and see if they are as reliable as my old Peerless tires. If so, I will be nothing but happy.

Updates:
Jan 22nd, 2007: I have now owned these tires for about a year and a half, and have put about 15000 miles on them. They have worn well and except for the fact that they look like they have been to hell and back, they have never let me down. They hold air well and have stayed mostly balanced.

Pictures